Furnace-grate



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. PRICE, OF SORANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

FURNACE-GRATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 293,273, dated February '12, 1884.

Application filed May17, less; (No model.)

To to whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. PRICE, of Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and Stateof Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in. Furnace- Grates and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,fclear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, and to the figures and letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention has for its object to improve the construction of furnace-grates, and particularly of that class employed in furnaces in which culm or other fine fuel is burned; and it consists in the several novel features of construction, which I will now proceed to describe, and point outparticularl yin the claims at the end of this specification.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 represent longitudinal seet-ional views ofa grate constructed'iu accordance with my invention, the movablerakingsections being shown in different positions in each of said figures. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a portion of the firesupporti'ng bars of the grate and the devices for introducing steam and air. Fig. 4: is a perspective view showing the manner in which the stationary plates of the raking device are constructed and supported. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the construction and relative arrangement of both the stationary and the movable plates of the raking devices. Figs. 6 and-7 are eross-sectionalviews of modified forms of fire-supporting bars.

Similar letters of reference in the several figures denote the same parts.

The letters A indicate a series of grate-bars extending transversely across the furnace, and preferably of substantially pyramidal form in cross-section, each bar being composed, preferably, of two inclined grated portions, a a, connected at the top by a solid concave portion, b,and having a water-bar, .c, secured within said concave portion, as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, the water-bars having connection with the furnace-boiler in any suitable way. At. the bottom of the pockets formed between the bars A are arranged a series of stationary fiat plates or bars, (2, which extend from side to side of the furnace, and connect at their ends with longitudinal bars d", that are supported in the furnace-walls, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Above the plates (1, and between said plates and the bottoms of the bars A, are arranged a series of intermediate movable bars or plates, 0, preferably having depending side fianges, f f, and extending from side to side of the furnace, where they connect openings is provided with an outwardly-flaring conductor, j, into the mouth of which projects the end of a steam-jet pipe, 70, eonnectedwith a common steam-supply pipe leading fromany suitable source of steam-supply. The mouth of each of the conductors j is provided with a register, Z, which canbe opened or closed more or less, as desired, by the adjustment of an operating-rod, m, to which all the registers are connected, as shown in Fig. 8. This arrangement enables more or less air to be admitted, according to the condition-of the fuel employed. If the latter is dry, the supply of air is diminished; if damp, the supply is increased. Normally the sliding plates 6 remain beneath the hollow bars A, with their edges resting upon adjacent plates, d d, as shown inFig. 1, so that they will span the spaces between said plates d d and form a close joint therewith, and thus cut off all communication between the fire-supporting surfaces and the ash-pit. This is necessary in order to prevent the steam which enters the longitudinal channels in the bars A from escapinginto the ash-pit.

Heretofore in eulm-burning furnaces the steam and air blast used to increase the combustion has been introduced into the ash-pit below the grate, and ithas been necessary, when it was desired to remove the ashes from the ash-pit, to shut off the steam-blast in order to permit access to the ash-pit through the door thereof without inconvenience to the fireman from escaping steam, and to prevent loss of steam; but the cutting offof the steam retarded the combustion of the fuel and caused the steam pressure in the boiler to be lowered. In the production of my present furnace it has been my object, among other things, to obviatethese objections incident to furnaces as ordinarily constructed. The steam-jets entering the flaring conductors cause air to be drawn in through the register-openings thereof, and the commingled steam and air is forced, under considerable pressure, through the channel of the barsAand out through the grated sides of the bars and through the burning fuel, supported conjointly by the grated bars A and stationary plates d. hen it becomes neces sary to rake the fire to remove the ashes, 82c, therefrom, the movable plates are moved so that their side flanges willsweep across the stationary plates d into the position shown in Fig. 2, and scrape from said stationary plates the accumulated ashes and dump them into the ash-pit below. The movable plates may be reciprocatcd one or more times, according to the requirement, until the fire has been sufficiently cleaned, and any adequate means such as a lever-may be employed to effect their reciprocation. \Vhen the ashes have accumulatedin the ash-pit, they may be removed at any time without inconvenience.

So far as I am advised, the described construction of furnace, involving in its operation the discharge of ashes into the ash-pit without shutting off the steanrblast, so as to permit of the removal of the ashes from the ash-pit at will, without inconvenience from escaping steam, introduces a new principle in this class of furnaces, and is a marked improvement.

Instead of forming the grate-bars A as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, they may be formed simply of'two parts, as shown in Fig. 7, eachpart being made solid from point n to point 0, and

grated from point 0 to the apex 'i, where the parts join; or, as in Fig. v6, a' solid bar, 9, of plumbago or other refractory material,may be applied at the apex and grasped and held by the inclined grated side bars.

By making the plates 6 and cl grated or perforated instead of solid, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5, they may be employed effectively where culm is burned and the steam and air blast is delivered below the grate, as ordinarily, instead of through the hollow grated fire-bars; or they may be employed in furnaces which burn large fuel, and "where a steam and air blast is not used.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new 1. A furnace having hollow or grated grate bars, in combination with means for introducing steam and air through said bars into the fire-bed, and with means for positively withdrawing ashes from the fire and discharging them into the ash-pit, substantially as de scribed.

2. The combination of the grated fire-bars, means for supplying steam and air through the same to the fire,the stationary supportingplates between the fire-bars, and the intermediate movable plates, adapted,when operated, to scrape the ashes from the stationary plates and discharge them into the ash-pit, substantially as described.

3. The fire-bars having the grated inclined sides and the water-bars at the crown, substantially as described.

J OHh A. PRICE.

Vitnesses:

JAMEs A. LANSING, A. R. RonnRTs. 

